


Zib

by Megxolotl, StarfallGalaxy



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: But Nothing Too Bad, Dib is an idiot, Dissociation, Is Zib technically a relationship?, Just...adult problems, M/M, Memory Loss, Zadr but extra steps?, Zim and Dib have relationship problems, but only a smidge, insecurites, slightly dark themes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:56:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24123211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Megxolotl/pseuds/Megxolotl, https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarfallGalaxy/pseuds/StarfallGalaxy
Summary: Dib didn’t know what universe Zib was aiming for when he fell into this one days ago. Most likely not this one, since he was twenty-two and Zib was barely twelve.
Relationships: Dib/Zim (Invader Zim)
Comments: 30
Kudos: 85





	Zib

Zib was probably one of the ugliest little things Dib had seen in his short life. His teeth were disproportionate to his mouth, blunt and large enough to be an overbite. His color was similar to an olive, the skin smooth but with tiny flaws not unlike a human’s. Dib’s own scythe-lock had carried over but split, the two furry almost-appendages still in their nest of black fluff as the hybrid(?) looked at him with eyes that basically screamed that he wanted to go home. Eight tiny claws clutched busted up glasses to his chest, the nose piece broken in the tiny fit of rage that seemed to have consumed the hybrid(?) seemingly moments prior.

Yes, Zib was ugly. But his eyes made him adorable. Ugly-cute, like a pug.

The sclera of one eye was a milky yellow, surrounding what was Dib’s gold iris. The other eye was...well it was Zim’s. Same berry, bottomless galaxy that the Irken possessed that-instead of burning into him with an angry glare-now stared up at him like he expected Dib to punch him in the face. And maybe he did…

Dib didn’t know what universe Zib was aiming for when he fell into this one days ago. Most likely not this one, since he was twenty-two and Zib was barely twelve. The tiny nuisance had shown up at their house, basically ranting about something Dib had no memory of. Something about a void of Zims (he loved Zim but he could not handle more than one, thank you), a Resistance, some explosion...and when he had finally gotten the child to talk via chocolate milk (Zim liked chocolate milk and this monstrosity seemed to act the same so…) and explain to him that  _ no _ , he’d never gone to a ‘Zimvoid’, Zib had been drifting in and out of the gang’s lives ever since. He just kinda...never left.

Dib and Zim, especially, had seen him wandering around the city. Or he was annoying them by being a brat, whatever worked for him that day. He was often rummaging through the garbage or walking around aimlessly trying to investigate. Or, like now, he’d pop up scared and hungry in Dib’s garage curled up in Tak’s ship, the sassy piece of tech surprisingly accommodating to the little freak. 

“Oh…,” Dib said softly, looking down at the small version of him that had crawled into his life, the tiny hybrid having crossed his little legs…”Oh, dude, did you-...”   
“Don’t!” Zib sounded humiliated, his lekku very low on his skull.

“Did you have an accident, buddy?” The older Dib whispered sympathetically, feeling the sting of memories from his own pre-teen years. 

Zib’s little eyes gleamed with unshed tears as his little lip started to tremble. He sniffled, his scytkku bouncing with his hiccups. Dib’s face softened, tilting his head as the inter-dimensional child broke down into tears in front of him in a puddle of his own shame. 

“I...I was gonna ask b...but I couldn’t remember the word for the...the relief thingy!” Zib wailed, hiccuping. 

Dib’s eyes widened. He knew Zim’s memory was bad but Zib couldn’t even remember the word for ‘bathroom’ or at least ‘toilet’? Were his PAK and brain really that scrambled? He stooped to Zib’s level, putting his hand on his head. 

“Hey, it's okay. You just couldn’t hold it anymore. Water under th-...um...well, let’s just get you cleaned up and call it even, okay?” 

Zib wiped his eyes with a coat sleeve, nodding his head complacently as he reached out his claw. Dib smiled, taking it gently and hauling himself up. 

“How about you get  **_me_ ** cleaned up as well?” The Takship huffed, but there was nearly as much malice as usual. Mostly she just sounded disgusted. “I’m the one who got his  _ fluids _ all over me after I  _ explicitly  _ told him it was ‘bathroom’!”

“But it’s  **_not!_ ** ” Zib objected, though he didn’t sound like he wanted to argue. “I know it’s not!”

Dib winced. What was he supposed to do in this situation? Should he tell him? Shouldn’t he? Maybe it was different in his world? Um…

“Did...did you mean the ‘baño’?” Dib supplied, glancing away. “I mean, it’s the Spanish word but I think-”   
“Yes!” Zib yipped, turning to the ship, his wet pants and tears suddenly forgotten in favor of gloating. “I  _ told you _ !”

The ship groaned, surely rolling it’s metaphorical eyes. Zib, meanwhile, went back to holding Dib’s hand, still sniffling a little. 

“Take me to it.” The hybrid commanded, standing on his tippy toes. He raised his tiny scythkku, like he had it all under control despite the mess.

When they actually  _ got  _ into the bathroom it was a different thing entirely. Zib looked absolutely miserable as he looked at his wobbly reflection in the water, biting his lip. Dib loomed over him, looking into the water, too.

“Is it too much water for you, or…?” Zib squeaked at the question, like he hadn’t noticed Dib at all.

The hybrid clutched at his towel, playing with the ends as he contemplated it, glancing at the clear liquid. He remembered he had gone in water Before, but his double sides still clung to each other in absolute terror. They knew how painful this stuff was, their chest feeling tight as they glanced down at it.   
“It’s pure,” Dib said, kneeling to the smaller version of him’s height. “I promise. I made it so Zim could have baths with m-...I mean! Could get clean here!”

Gross, these two took baths together?! Zib snorted in disgust, the PAK fused to his head blinking blue before going back to it’s soft pink color. Then again, he and his Zim were always together. Even now he can hear him, the once intrusive noises suddenly more calming...passive. Or maybe that was Dib’s voice? He could never tell anymore which one of them was in control. They just  _ were _ . And to each other they were just Mine.   
_ (We feel  _ **_icky,_ ** _ Mine,)  _ his Other whined.  _ (We need to get cleaned…) _

“I know. I’m getting in, calm down,” Zib cautiously tapped the water with one claw. “Doesn’t seem to burn...GAH!”   
Zib slipped on the soap that was on the rim of the tub, splashing face first into the water. The human watching over him covered his mouth, trying not to laugh when he watched the little hybrid come up for air, his scythkuu fluffed up. ‘001’ shivered, his little olive skin being covered in goosebumps as he rubbed his arms.

“It’s freezing!”

“Yeah well it would’ve been warm if you had stopped playing around,” He took a cup from his side and put it in the water, letting it fill up before hanging it over the wet fluff of Zib’s head. “Ready?”

Zib looked up at the cup above his head, “Ready for wha-?”

He mewled as the water was poured over his head, making everything blurry and wet. Suddenly, large hands were on his head, scrubbing his fluff as he ducked his head under the force, letting out a miffed mumble. He looked down as he was being cleaned, watching his own reflection with the one red eye. Stupid water. A pink plastic sailor floated toward him, it’s cheerful smile seeming to beg to be drowned…how dare it enjoy the water?

His hand felt the weight of the water as he made it die, softly growling. But then another, bluer sailor floated serenely into view, this one looking just as smug as the first. A green claw suddenly snapped down at that one, the Irken chittering in confusion at the tiny thing resisting him, the sailor escaping from him to float once again. The human watched in curiosity as it popped it’s little head up, shouting for help and waving it’s tiny little arms around. 

Suddenly, the water rippled...bubbles coming from seemingly nowhere before a giant monster of a toy ship  _ lurched  _ out of the water with thousands of little toy sailors screaming at Them. The human blinked, sheepishly smiling before he released the tiny sailor.

But it was too late.

The Irken cowered behind him as the sailors ordered for attack, the ship opening it’s hull to let loose a fleet of rubber duckies! They screamed, hanging onto each other until...until…

“Zib, you’re getting water everywhere,” Dib chuckled, watching the long scythkku perk up at his voice and the hybrid’s mouth stop mid-scream. “Are you enjoying yourself?”

“...no.” Zib dropped the first of the rubber ducky fleet, defeated for now. “Can I get out now?”

Dib laughed at the hybrid’s expression of ‘I wasn’t playing’, the little thing splashing him with the water when he saw him smiling. He offered a hand. 

Zib glanced down at it, before shoving it away. His leg slipped twice as he got out, but soon his claws hit the ground to drip-dry on the tiled floor. He stood tall, glaring at his interdimensional older self. 

“C’mon, let’s get you into something more comfortable.”

Said “something more comfortable” ended up being an abominable horror of something called a “footie pajamas”, apparently designed to make 0001 look like a little smeet, rather than the formidable menace he was. It had tiny cartoon aliens all over it, their black eyes mocking him as he glared at his feet. He swung them, hoping somehow he could fling the accursed things off. No luck.   
“Alright...I can make mac and cheese. That okay?” Dib said from under the sink, already dragging things out to start the stuff. “Cause most kids like it.”

“What’s mac and chee-” Zib stopped, his scythkku bending forward to sniff at the air as he smelt the distinct aroma of something very familiar. His stomach growled. “Food…”

“Yep. It’s food.” Dib chuckled, watching Zib’s mismatched eyes as the little hybrid attempted to see what exactly he was cooking. “Don’t stand on the chair. And do you need new glasses?”

“Psh, my eyesight is perfect!” Zib mewled, leaning over the back of the chair. It started to tilt. “I’m 001, after AGGGGGHHH!”

Dib caught the chair with his foot, leaning it back. He was thankful for his long legs. 

“I meant to do that,” Zib said, looking like he was trying very hard not to shake. Keyword “Trying”.

“I’m sure you didn’t. But don’t do it again.” Dib sighed, going back to cooking. “Swear to Hades, you or Zim is going to give me a heart attack. Wonder if it’s a competition…”

Zib sat down slowly, his legs trembling. He hugged his knees to his chest, burying his face in the alien fabric. 

“Sorry,” he muttered, hopefully low enough that the taller didn’t hear.

“It’s fine.” Dib said, ruffling his hair as he passed him, pulling out the chair next to him. “So where have you been living? You’re like...ten. Who took you in?”

“I can look after myself, you know?” Granted, it wasn’t as grand as when he had an hundred of Zims under his command, but still. He wasn’t some little smeet in need of “family” or other shmoopy mush.

Dib froze, “So...you’ve been living on the streets this whole time?”

Zib smiled, nodding proudly. Who needed things like a base or a food supply? He was doing just fine on his own. He didn’t need anyon-

He squeaked when he felt a soft chest collide with his face. He inhaled, the scent of pine needles filling up his scythkku. He felt himself become hot, his cheeks warming up more as he felt long fingers stroke his hair. 

“You’re staying with me.”

“EX-cuse you?”

Oh, great, Zim had arrived. Dib rested his head on Zib’s, between his scythkuu, as he met his mate’s bottomless galaxy eyes. His hands didn’t stop busying themselves with Zib’s hair. 

“Zib doesn’t have a home. He’s staying here,” Dib said, completely removing Zib from the chair and putting him in his lap. “With us.”

Zib’s face got hotter as he was cuddled. It had been a long time…

“Uuuuuughhhh… FINE! But it’s  _ your _ responsibility, capiche?”

“Don’t act like he’s a dog!” Dib hissed, hugging Zib protectively against his chest. “He’s only a little boy who’s confused and scared in a new world. I know you know what that’s like so don’t pretend to be holier than thou!”

The spiel was met with a forcedly dismissive hand wave. “Yeah, yeah whatever.”

Zib tensed as he heard Dib growl, sensing that there had been anger  _ way  _ before he had stumbled into the garage. After all, why had Dib been downstairs to hear him? 

“Whatever. I’m putting Zib to bed.” The human snarled, getting up with the hybrid cradled in his arms.

“Fine.”   
“Fine.”

“FINE!”

“Ugh, what a jerk,” Dib growled, once they got out of the Irken’s hearing range. He slammed the guest room’s door closed with his foot. “You’d think he would grow up a bit eventually, and yet.” And yet he was still there, pretending still to be the big (ok, small) and scary Invader he was when he landed. When in actuality he was a small, adorable cuddle monster (he had photographic evidence) that decided Dib was his favorite human some time ago and kinda never left Dib’s side. Which was fine, because Dib never left Zim’s side. Neither of them ever saw any need to. Or want to.

Except for now, because Zim was being a stuck up prick over the kid. Speaking of which…

“You ok?” The kiddo was still hiding his face into Dib’s chest. “Don’t worry, he’s all bark and no bite, I should know.”

“...he looks like  _ my _ Zim.” It was faint, low, but it was there. A child’s whisper, one that was very upset. 

Zib, Zim 001, was trembling. He had recognized that chubbier, rounder curve that his Zim had gained after the nachos and the Florpus. It didn’t make him fat by any means, just...plumper than some other Zim’s. It was the same self-confidence that his Zim had gained, not the false kind but the kind that had made his Zim’s lekku stand straight up almost all the time. It was the same mean smirk, same angry eyeshadow but…

He had never seen his with that long of lekku. Or mom jeans. This one was much older, not a child dictator but a teen with apparent goals to make Dib miserable. His Zim, Zib thought, never had a chance to become like this one…

“What was your Zim like?” Dib asked, laying the hybrid down on the guest bed. “Sorry, Gaz usually sleeps here when she comes over so I’m pretty sure that there may be a few...girly products in here but nothing too psychologically damaging-”   
“My Zim was terrible,” Zib grumbled, moving to his sit up so his PAK didn’t get jostled in his ranting. “He...used to mock me like that. Claw at me. Regular Zim things until...he just got...weird!”   
The hybrid threw his claws into the air.   
“He started wearing this black outfit and he had this Florpus trying to kill us all and there was this doomsday moose-”   
“Wait, woah, woah, the Florpus was a thing in your world, too?” Dib asked, sitting on the bed with his hands clasped. “And do you mean Minimoose?”

“Nyah!”

At his name being mentioned, the tiny flying moose popped out of his hiding spot in the sock drawer. He flew over to Zib to nibble at him, making the hybrid squeak in terror.

“Y-yeah but...less...cute?” Zib’s scythkku tilted to the side as he let the tiny thing nibble his sleeve some more before the moose decided to settle into his lap. “And not purple. This one was pink.”

“A pink Minimoose? A...gothic dictator Zim? Was-was it  _ intentional _ ?”

Zib nodded, cautiously stroking the tiny moose in his lap. He started explaining how Zim took over Earth during Peace Day, Zib attempting to expose him but then finding out that Zim had gone...weird. His last memories of his Zim, laughing like the Joker at the idea that he wouldn’t stop clawing at Dib’s face, the fear in his eyes as Dib grabbed his wrist. The beeping…

And Zim begging his Tallest to come back as he clung to Dib, his tiny body so cold as Dib looked around for the PAK. Going limp as Dib heard the scuttle of something and then a leap and… 

Extreme pain.

“Yeah so…” The hybrid shrugged, rolling his mismatched eyes. “That’s why I’m 001. I defeated my Zim. Even if I went...weird.”

“I?” Dib asked.   
“Huh?” Zib said, shaking his head. “Anyway…”

He looked down at his footie pjs again, the green aliens looking up at him mockingly. He leaned back, letting his claws wrap around his chest softly. He could feel his PAK against the headboard and the ghost of a figure cradling him. It was there but it wasn’t, a soft lap to relax against just like he did every night. He chalked it up to the pure space his PAK created because if he acknowledged the two differing thoughts he was running through his mind he was going to go batshit. His dad had taught him a lot about denial.

“So I’m the best Dib. And my Zim is...was...the best Zim, too. So I’m 001,” He sniffed. “The best ever.”

“So you are the two of us combined...so you’re kinda like that Giant Woman in that one show…”

“What?”   
“Nothing,” Dib shook his head, leaning over to smooth Zib’s fur back, the fluffy scythkku following the action with interest. “Just try and get some slee-...are those...extra arms?’

Zib fluffed up, looking down at the twin holes in his pjs that revealed the tiny green Irken arms resting on his stomach. He had forgotten that that had been a big thing to most humans. It didn’t hurt...not like being hit in the squeedily spooch or having his trachea stolen did, more just felt like how a person would flex their muscles and *boom*, there they were. 

“Um...they’re...normal on my Earth?” Zib tried, giving him a big smile. 

The human’s unimpressed face was the signal to stop.

The hybrid shrunk a bit on himself, wrapping in his two pairs of arms, human pale and Irken green. 

They stood together in uncomfortable silence. 

"You know, Gaz did the arm trick once. Scared me half to death. Didn't help that I was stuck in GIR's body at the time." 

The kid perked up a bit at the mention of the puppy. He hadn’t seen him in quite a while. 

"Yeah, dumb little robot." 

"ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT MEEE?" 

Speak of the devil… 

Mini opened one eye and yawned at his brother’s appearance, the robot doggy shoving him aside to also clamber onto the hybrid’s lap.

Truth to be told (rare occurrence), 0001's last encounters with the robot had been… Less than friendly, more often than not leaving the little guy dazed, bruised, and without dinner (GIR didn't even  _ need  _ to eat! What business had he hoarding all that food?) But GIR had doggy kisses and his tail was going like a helicopter…

He had missed GIR. And his fluffy dog onesie.

He sighed, tolerating GIR’s hug with an upturned snoot. Couldn’t this thing go and bother Zim? But his Irken arms still replicated the act, petting at the soft fur. The ghost lap he sat in felt comfy, GIR and Mini were warm and his stomach wasn’t growling for once. His eyelids started drooping…

“Dib-human! Come to bed!” Zim’s voice was loud enough to wake a whole herd of cattle, certainly enough to startle Zib out of his sleepiness. “I’m sick of waiting!”

The human opened the door, poking his head out, “I thought I was banished?!”

He was met with a few seconds of silence before, “Well I decided to unbanish you.”

Dib groaned, closing the door a little less harshly than before. He sat on the bed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He couldn’t believe that Zim was doing  _ this  _ again. He’d thought they’d gotten past this a long time ago. 

“I can’t believe we’re back to this again…”

“Back to what again?” Zib asked, still holding the two bots close to him. “Don’t we always fight Zim? We’re Dibs, after all.”

“Well, yeah,” Dib said, waving his hand around. “But it’s not like I  _ want  _ to all the time! I mean,  _ sure  _ we’ve both never had healthy relationships before. I was stuck in an abusive one for a long time and Zim has had to literally overcome brainwashing but STILL. You’d think that he would KNOW something about acceptance by now. And...and...now he’s started this bullshit again!”   
Dib got to his feet, starting to pace the floor.

“I mean, where does he get off being cold and distant?! To  **me!** His...his  _ best friend  _ and  _ partner! _ For how long have we always only had each other?!”

“...2 years in my timeline so…” Zib counted on his fingers. “At least 12.”

“Yeah, exactly! We’ve already gone on this song and dance! He’s asked me for affection before! Hell, he’s ALWAYS asked me for  _ attention _ before!” Dib growled. “And  **now** he’s suddenly acting like we  **haven’t** done this before! For some reason! He’s distancing himself again and I have no idea why! It’s not like his Tallest have come back or something!”

Zib felt a certain dread at hearing the Tallests’ mentioned. He couldn’t remember quite why they were so frightening. Or what they looked like, really. Or...anything about them besides the slightest idea that they  _ might’ve  _ been Zim’s leaders. Or he could be thinking wrong.

“I dunno. Maybe seeing me brought back bad memories,” Zib didn’t know where that line came from or why he said it aloud but it seemed important. Still, better cover it up before he sounded too mushy. “I am just a tiny you, after all.”

“Yeah...a tiny us…” Dib smiled, even though Zib was about to correct that he meant the singular ‘you’. “You are kinda our child, aren’t you? Our strange little creation...our bab-...oh.”

Dib’s head dropped, his own scythe lowering, biting his lip.

“Our child. Our...oh, god I’m so stupid…” Dib groaned, putting his face into his hands.

Zib’s scythku perked up, his head tilted, “What?”

“Nothing, Zib...I just…” Dib sniffed, wiping under his one eye. “I shouldn’t be complaining about this to you. You don’t have to worry about this. It’s...adult stuff. Sorry…”

He ruffled the fur on the hybrid’s head again, smiling in the sad way.

“You just worry about sleeping right now, okay? That sound good, buddy?” Dib sighed, making sure the long scythku were in the relaxed position. “Don’t worry about a thing.”

“...okay…” Zib sighed, too tired to argue that he wasn’t a smeet. 

Dib smiled as the hybrid settled down to sleep, tucking him in. Now to deal with the tornado he had caused waiting for him in his own bed. Who was probably now even more irritated than ever at him for taking so long. 

Dib hesitated at his bedroom door, trying to psych himself up for the idea that Zim might want to murder him dead right now. What was he supposed to say? ‘I’m sorry I was an insensitive jerk to your feelings, Zim, would you mind if I made it up to you by mere  **cuddling** ?’ God, that wouldn’t fucking fly. He’d screwed up so bad…

“Ziiiiim? Are you o-...oh, Zim…”

The tiny Irken was hunching over, hugging Dib’s old voodoo doll of him to his chest. The shorter of his two lekku was twitching with every hiccup. It was obvious that he had been trying to distract himself from the old habit of clawing his arms, his mouth securely clamped around the tiny him’s lekku, chewing. Like he was trying to groom it. His blank expression as he chewed meant that he was totally dissociative right now. And totally scared.

“Oh, honey, come here...no one’s gonna hurt you,” Dib cooed, stretching his arms out to give the Irken the choice to either push him away or accept the arms. Luckily, he seemed to collapse into them almost like a doll himself. “Shhh...shh…”

“...you took too long.”

“I know. But I had to tuck him into bed…” Dib said, petting at the ‘princess lekku’ on Zim’s head. “Listen, it’s okay...I know why you’re upset. It was wrong of me to just invite this child into our home after everything that happened but you gotta understand he's still a kid and he doesn’t have anywhere to go and that’s why I couldn’t let him be alone, it’s not because I need to fill in an empty void cause you’re enoug-”

“Shut your noise hole, monkey…” Zim snorted, pressing his claw to Dib’s mouth. “I know. It’s because my human is...a good human.”

Dib swore whenever he looked into his wife’s-Zim liked that better than ‘husband’- ruby eyes like that he felt his organs melt a little more. A lot more, in fact. 

“And my hero stays good because it makes him...happy. It’s just...it’s not because I can’t…,” Zim looked away, whimpering. “...carry, is it?”

“No! No, no, nonononono...I love you. I’m not gonna just stop because I can’t...make babies with you, okay?” Dib took Zim’s face in his hands. “Listen, it’s more cause I love you and he reminds me of you. Hell, he  _ is us _ . And that stands for something big for me, like...does that mean we’re like...meant to be or…”

He never got to finish. Zim’s lips pressed against his in an Earth shattering, almost desperate kiss. How the hell had he gotten so good at th-

“Then we can keep him. And at least now I know you’re gonna love my surprise~”

Dib gave Zim a concerned look. Zim was not good at surprises. Or at least...not good ones. 

“What surprise?” 

“Hmm~ You’ll find out…” Zim purred. “But first...I think it’s in order that I give you an apology for banshing you to the couch~”

“...so….”

“Sex, Dib. I was talking about mating.”

“Oh, okay then. Eeeek! Zim, your hands are cold!”

**Author's Note:**

> Do you guys want a sequel?


End file.
